Spam is on the rise, and even worse: spammers are only getting more and more sophisticated in their deceptive tactics. You can receive an email or a text that looks and reads like it’s completely legitimate, and you may even respond against your better judgment. Before you even know what’s happening, the sender has asked you for personal information in order to provide some kind of service or help that it claims you need, and you’ve unknowingly given away valuable data.
The way to prevent this from ruining your data (and making your life a real headache until the issue is resolved) is to make sure you are aware of some of the most common spam messages that you’re likely to receive. Be extra cautious when you receive one of these three spam messages — they’re risky and can cost you your privacy, security, and personal data.
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1. Phishing Emails
Phishing emails are kind of what they sound like: they are set up to seem like they’re coming from a real company like a store or bank that you use and then “fish” for your information. These emails may sound alarming — they may alert you that your account has been suspended or that your invoice hasn’t been paid yet. They’ll try to get you to worry about consequences that can happen if you don’t click on a link provided that takes you to a fake website where you’re asked to input your personal information.
If you have doubts about these emails being real, never click on links. Contact the company directly to verify — chances are it’s a fake.
2. Prize Scams
We’re really sorry, but you did not win a million dollars. If you actually won a reward, you’d never receive it in email form with requests for personal information such as bank routing numbers where the money can be wired. This is a definite scam — and a dangerous one. This goes double is you never even entered a contest. Delete the message and never respond or provide personal info.
3. Tech Support Scams
Is that email telling that you Apple or Google need to fix a major problem on your computer, such as a supposed virus they detected? These types of scams will often ask you to call a customer service number, but if you do, they’ll request personal information from you — and therein lies the scam to collect your data. Delete, delete, delete.
